Imatinib assay by HPLC with photodiode-array UV detection in plasma from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia: Comparison with LC-MS/MS

BackgroundImatinib, a competitive inhibitor of BCR–ABL tyrosine kinase, is now the first-line treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Therapeutic drug monitoring targeting trough plasma levels of about 1000 ng/mL may help to optimize the therapeutic effect.MethodsWe developed a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with UV/Diode Array Detection (DAD) for trough imatinib concentration determination in human plasma. Imatinib trough levels were measured in plasma from 65 CML patients using our method and LC-MS/MS as the reference method. Results with these two methods were compared using Deming regression, chi-square test, and sign test.ResultsThe calibration curve was prepared in blank human plasma. HPLC-UV/DAD calibration curves were linear from 80 to 4000 ng/mL, and the limit of quantification was set at 80 ng/mL. The between-day variation was 6.1% with greater than 96% recovery after direct plasma deproteinization and greater than 98% recovery from the column. No significant differences in imatinib plasma levels were found between HPLC-UV/DAD and LC-MS/MS.ConclusionsThis HPLC-UV/DAD method was sufficiently specific and sensitive for imatinib TDM, with no evidence of interference. Our rapid inexpensive HPLC-UV/DAD method that requires only widely available equipment performs well for plasma imatinib assays.     

Comparative effects of two type I interferons, human IFN-alpha and ovine IFN-tau on indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase in primary cultures of human macrophages

Type I interferons (IFNs) are widely used to treat viral diseases. Depressive symptoms and suicide attempts are common neuropsychiatric side-effects during treatment with type I IFNs. Activation of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the kynurenine pathway by IFNs, leads to an increase in tryptophan (Trp) catabolism. Low levels of Trp lead to decrease of serotonin synthesis, which is likely to be related to the depressive symptoms. Ovine type I interferon-tau (IFN-tau) has a more potent antiretroviral effect and is less toxic than human type I IFN-alpha. Effects of IFN-tau and IFN-alpha on IDO expression and activity in primary cultures of human macrophages were compared in parallel to those of IFN-gamma, considered as one of the most potent IDO inducer. We found that both IFN-alpha and IFN-tau were poor inducers of IDO compared with IFN-gamma. However, IDO activation was slightly and significantly lower with ovine IFN-tau than human IFN-alpha, suggesting that ovine IFN-tau might have a lower impact on serotoninergic pathway compared with human IFN-alpha.